Stocksbridge locals hope steel plant is taken into British hands

Sheffield steelmaking is facing an uncertain future after the UK’s third-largest steelworks collapsed into government control this week.

Insolvency courts granted a compulsory winding up order for Speciality Steels UK – part of the Liberty Steel group owned by Sanjeev Gupta – which employs around 1,500 workers at sites in Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

The firm – which owes hundreds of millions of pounds to creditors – will now be placed into the hands of a government-appointed liquidator, with ministers agreeing to cover the ongoing wages and plant costs while a buyer is sought.

Following the latest developments, people living near the plant in Stocksbridge said they were concerned about the effect on the local economy and the future of their town.

“This is supposed to be, allegedly, the Northern Powerhouse, isn’t it?” said trader Peter Johansson.

“If you keep on shutting things down, we haven’t got much power left, have we?

“If they pay somebody a wage, they can spend it in the area, can’t they? If they’re not in a job, then they can’t spend anything. They employ a lot of people, don’t they?

“In my lifetime, when you look back at how this country’s gone down, we’ve lost shipbuilding, we’ve lost cotton mills, we’ve lost the wool industry, we’ve lost steelworks, we’ve lost coal, we’ve lost everything. Everything’s gone.

“You can’t keep importing things all the time.”

His views were echoed by Graham Elliott, who backed the government takeover and bid to find a rescue deal for the plant.

“This town has a very long history of steelmaking and I think a lot of people are still very proud of it,” he said.

“That steelworks produces all kinds of quality stuff that’s needed. So, let’s keep making it and whatever some foreign owner wants to do or not do, as a nation, we’ve got to start looking after ourselves.

“We seem to be getting so dependent on people who are not reliable that we’ve got to start looking after our own industries, and that also means looking after the people who work there and what it does for this town – so I’m really pleased.”

Pam Morris shared his hope that the plant would be taken back into British hands.

“I hope they do, to be honest. The coal mines, they’re still paying for it now, aren’t they?”

Tracey Martin runs Samuel’s Kitchen, a cafe a stone’s throw away from the plant. She told the BBC she is owed £3,000 by the troubled firm, which she was uncertain she would see again.

“There’s a lot of question marks as to what’s happening now it’s in administration.

“Stocksbridge is built on steel, that’s the beating heart of the valley. Let’s hope they can actually turn it around and we do see it doing what it’s good at.”